Originally Posted by
unexpected
Sage, I do not mean to be snarky, but I don't think this is a usual test. Every player who has had their jersey retired has won a National Player of the Year Award. It's just coincidental that the guys who have won the NPOY awards have also been All Americans for at least two years.
It hurts to see guys we love not get the recognition they deserve. People wanted Duhon's jersey retired back in 2006. Others have wanted Smith/Scheyer/Singler's jersey retired. As an institution, I do not think we should lower our standards than what they are - I do not want to see us become like the University of Texas, who retired Kevin Durant's jersey after he led them to the Sweet 16 and peaced out (well, he won NPOY of the year - the first freshman ever, so there's that)
Unexpected, you are not "snarky," but you are not correct either. There are five retired jerseys for players who were not NPOY:
Jeff Mullins
Mike Gminski
Bobby Hurley
Grant Hill
Shelden Williams
Plus, Johnny Dawkins was NPOY for one award
The rest of the retired jerseys were more or less consensus NPOY's
The two-time All-American standard was often discussed as the test 10-15 years ago. It also helps to have national and international recognition beyond Duke
Here's where these five plus Dawkins stand per the Duke BB Media Guide:
Mullins -- non-consensus A-A in 1963; second team in 1964; Duke's first two Final Fours; Duke's first Olympic gold, NBA All-Star and NBA champion; former Duke asst. AD
Mike Gminski -- 1st team A-A in 1979 and 2nd team in 1980; Final Four; as a fillip -- twice 1st team Academic A-A
Bobby Hurley -- non-consensus A-A in 1992; 1st team A-A in 1993; PG on Duke's first two Natl. Championships plus another Final Four
Grant Hill -- non-consensus A-A in 1992; 2nd team A-A in 1993; 1st team in 1994; NDPOY in 1993; many time NBA All-Star; Olympic gold medalist
Shelden Williams -- non-consensus A-A in 2004 and 2005; 1st team A-A in 2006; two-time NDPOY
Johnny Dawkins was not a consensus NPOY but was a two-time first team All-American
The only player without a jersey in the rafters who was a two-time consensus A-A is Bob Verga, who was 2nd team in 1966 and 1st team in 1967.
Players you mentioned -- Duhon, Nolan Smith, Scheyer and Singler don't come close to these tests of national and international recognition -- although they were terrific players for Duke.
Kindly,
Sage
'BTW I didn't go over the other quals of the NPOY's: Groat (2nd and 1st), Heyman (non-consensus, 2nd, 1st), Ferry (2nd and 1st), Laettner (NC, 2nd, 1st), Battier (2nd and 1st), Jay Williams (1st and 1st), and Redick (NC, 1st, 1st).
Sage Grouse
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'When I got on the bus for my first road game at Duke, I saw that every player was carrying textbooks or laptops. I coached in the SEC for 25 years, and I had never seen that before, not even once.' - David Cutcliffe to Duke alumni in Washington, DC, June 2013